202 Internet for Business

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Last update at /special/conference/apwww95,Friday, 21-May-2004 09:47:18 EST

Business on the Internet

Linda Rouse
Housley Computer Communications
Sydney, NSW 2072.
Phone: 61 2 466 2999 Fax: 61 2 498 7669.

Email: lrouse@extro.ucc.su.oz.au http://www.moreinfo.com.au/housle y/

Abstract
In this paper, Linda Rouse looks at the particular environment of business users of the Internet and their use of the World Wide Web as the medium for profiling their organisations. The paper will cover some typical business case studies for companies, discuss staff training issues, show examples of pubnetting, and look at some of the practical applications of establishing a corporate presence via the Web. Linda will look at future developments with regard to security, cashless transactions, as well as the implications for business of IRC, videoconferencing, VMRL, and other development that may impact on business users.
Keywords
Business, WWW, Internet, Business Applications

Introduction
As I came to write this paper, I looked at the history of the Internet and the current blaze of publicity and excitement generated in the media about the Internet and the Web; I thought back to 1993 when the VALA Conference in Melbourne that year had an Internet Room where one could call up a new-fangled program called Mosaic that played kookaburra calls from the Australian National Botanical Gardens URL: http://155.187.10.12/anbg/index.html; then I looked at the variety and breadth of papers at this conference and realised how far the Internet has come in less than thirty years, and what an impact the Web has had on business in only two.

For business use, the Internet really began with that first audiovisual WWW client browser and there was no looking back. OK, some companies have had FTP sites for years, but it was the Web that generally alerted business to the existence and potential of the Internet. In fact, the media talks of Web use doubling every 9 months, 1,000 new Web pages a week; and business use up by 200%. The first two statements are unverifiable, the third came from Peter Saalmans, AARNet MD, in February (1995) on analysis of business use of the Web in Australia during 1994.[1] Because of the huge take-up by business, it is worth taking a moment to consider why companies are leaping on the bandwagon, and to examine what they hope to achieve.

The first reason for business take up of the Internet and the World Wide Web in particular is to state the obvious: colour and movement - the promotional benefits! What colour did for television advertising, so multimedia did for the text-based Internet. For those of you who find the mention of television and the Internet in the same breath as odious, please bear with me! It was not only companies that benefited from the easier, more attractive interface, and the access to a variety of servers, but the whole user base of the Internet is increasing dramatically as people around the world discover the Web and the world of multimedia.

Colour & movement: case studies for business
The arrival of the WWW has provided the incentive for corporate management, and others, to develop convincing case studies for business use of the Internet.
The business focus has so far not been so much that of making money on the Internet but using the Web for a variety of ways to save money and to generally develop a better business presence in this burgeoning global marketplace. Numbers help of course, with the Internet population purportedly over 30 million, though maybe only a small proportion of these are Web users at the moment.
So what are the other cases for business use of the Web? The primary issues are:

corporate intelligence
marketing and promotion
communication
customer focus - training, support, surveys, feedback
information dissemination/document transfer/publishing
The list above translates in real business terms to:

obtaining information about business partners and competitors via Web pages, email, mailing lists, usenet groups,
market and product analyses via email surveys, web page access statistics, forms, and other feedback mechanisms such as product beta testing, evaluations etc.
rapid internal and external communication with peers, partners, and clients
improved customer relationships, better and more cost-effective support and the ability to create a new client base
cost-effective wide scale document dissemination - annual reports, glossy brochures, technical reports, manuals, meeting minutes, software, newsletters
IRC or Internet Relay Chat has been around for a while now but it has not seen the business take-up that was expected when it was first released. The potential for real time chat between online users in delivery of technical support and customer service has not been realised due mainly I suspect to the fact that typed text does not have the same impact as the more recent AV developments and email is easier. IRC is still popular in the entertainment area and may yet see further developments by business.
In the last twelve months, advances in audio and visual signal compression has lead to the use of live AV technologies on the Internet.
Previously only accessible on mainframe computers, audio was unavailable to most PC Internet users until the development of the Maven program for Mac users. The ability to send and receive real time audio and video over the Internet and the subsequent development of programs for all platforms has seen the entertainment industry leap on with Web pages and occasional realtime broadcasts. Radio stations such as Triple M and Triple J here in Sydney have begun providing access to some of their audio broadcasts which are also transmitted over conventional airwaves. Although the sound still leave a lot to be desired unless you have a high speed link, the potential is there for business to use such tools for more task oriented interaction with staff within their organisations, and to communicate directly with business partners, and with clients and customers.
Along with live audio came videoconferencing tools such as CuSeeMe, developed by Cornell University. This program, capable of providing point to point videoonferencing over the Internet from the user's desktop, again, dramatically increases the opportunities for face-to-face real time interaction with resulting improvements in customer and client relations.
Now, there are developments such as VRML (Virtual Reality Markup Language) for 3D graphics developed by Silicon Graphics and now in the public domain as a helper application for Netscape1.1 - useful for presenting Web layouts, plans, exhibitions, architectural designs, real estate, shopping malls, and so on. Using RealAudio Player software speeds up the delivery of sound files significantly and improve the quality. HotJava is a new object oriented programming tool from Sun that works in conjunction with the Web and offers the possibility of animation and other dynamic presentations. These tools provide scope for new ways of doing business over the Internet and ways to garner new business.
The recent software developments to see and hear real time images and sound (e.g. CU-SeeMe, and Vocalchat from Vocaltec) The CGI (Common Gateway Interface) links that are being created within Web browsers and proprietary database systems such as Oracle set new levels for information access and retrieval, and for publishing on the Web. Providing access to local databanks via the Web has enormous potential for information dissemination at all levels.
The following list of URL's, mostly Australian, was selected to demonstrate the variety of information available to business via the Web from mostly non-commercial sites.

goverment Australian Government Home Page
law Australian Federal Legislation Online
trade Austrade Shopfront
the media the Australian Financial Review
business schools The Australian Graduate School of Business, UNSW
innovation The PM Zone (Popular Mechanics)
the Olympics 2000 Sydney 2000
international affairs the United Nations
and a sample of everything the Awesome Lists
However, juxtaposed against the tangible benefits of Internet and Web use are some very serious concerns.

Corporate concerns
There are a number of issues with regard to business use of the Internet particularly as the mass media has been quick to publicise the less savoury aspects of the Net. I have identified the main categories in the list below but as some are solved, there will be others that arise as a result of these technologies and their use within an organisation.

System managment How do you manage the network, internally and externally? Do you have the right staff to be able to implement, maintain and support both an internal network and an external one. What issues are involved for systems staff? What hardware/software is required? These are all serious questions that need to be tackled by corporate managers before any full scale Web implementation can take place.

Maintenance Maintenance is a key issue for Web site and Internet access provision as it is not static - the site needs to be dynamic and there needs to be people responsible for content and design as well as someone directly responsible for the handling of queries and feedback in relation to the home page. It is no use going to the effort of creating a Web page with email and forms feedback if there is no-one to coordinate and deliver appropriate responses.
Economic issues What does all this cost? Do you run it yourself or use a bureau? Do you want to develop the skills in-house or out-source the whole operation? At Housley Computer Communications, we used a bureau to design and implement a set of home pages that describe our training courses, and who maintains the server and provides statistics, but we edit the pages ourselves. The cost of establishing and maintaining your own server(s) may not be viable if there are no immediate returns or cost savings.
Measurement of success How do you measure the success of the operation? How do you tell if it is a worthwhile exercise? Site usage statistics, i.e. number of 'hits', were once considered a reliable indicator of interest but now this is questionable as each Web page element - text, buttons, images - may constitute a separate 'hit'. Receiving and analysing feedback from interested users is a more immediate and tangible way of measuring the effectiveness of the site.
Reliability Is the Internet a reliable enough medium for day-to-day business transactions? We know email is faster (and usually cheaper) than any other telecommunications facility - if the network is up! Business use requires mission critical operations and the Internet is not always there when you need it. Congestion is a further factor that may inhibit business use and those of us who are long time users have noticed a serious degradation in speed and accessibility of servers, especially those based in the U.S. It is expected that the rapid deployment of fibre optic, ISDN, and other developments will solve the bandwidth issues in the near future.
Security. The main concern of most corporate managers is that of security - for their data, for their network, and for Internet-based transactions. How to ensure the network is secure from within and without? There are hardware and software tools, for example, firewalls and encryption techniques, that are rapidly being developed to counter some of the real risks involved in connecting to the Internet.
Personnel issues including training and support. Personnel issues are a hot item for many corporate managers. They include the problems of allowing staff access to the Web and the risk of lowered productivity, the effective training of staff on not only the tools and applications but on company privacy and security issues, and support issues. Education on the effective use of the Web, net etiquette and specific training in the tools will assist in productive use of the Net mousing around is the best way to waste time!
Train staff well and security and other problems also improve - some of the most serious breaches of security have come from staff using obvious passwords or allowing others access.

Business benefits vs. the risks
So, is it all worthwhile? I think we all know that though there are many challenges business is not going to miss the opportunities opening up for global communications on this scale.
The Internet and especially the World Wide Web presents a shift in the perception both of business and their clients as to how they communicate this is much more fundamental than devising a marketing campaign, placing an ad on television, or printing and posting the obligatory annual report. The Web may not change how we work immediately - there are many existing technologies that will continue to operate in conjunction, such as phones and faxes. The Web is a complementary technology but it is its ability to communicate in a compelling manner that entices the business user. It is the interactive nature of the Internet itself, with the lure of a colourful and changeable interface, that offers the best options for generating new and better business. Despite the immediate threats - insecure transactions, low bandwidth, hacking - these can all be overcome by present technologies and each week there are major milestones being reached in the delivery of improved services.
Better bandwidth is only a matter of time as all the major telcos in Europe, North America and Australia are about to start trials of interactive TV in urban communities with 'video on demand' just around the virtual corner. For example, Gungahlin is a new suburb in the ACT where every home is being wired with the latest in advanced telecommunication services as a trial by Telstra on how online services will be used in the home. Online transactions such as banking are restricted at the moment to internal or commercial networks although MasterCard and Visa are working hard to provide a secure commercial environment. Shopping via the Web is still best done using 'secure' servers or by faxing through credit card details rather than entering them online. As a simple example, I have, in cooperation with Library Solutions Press, ordered training materials online via email, faxed credit card authorisation and on-selling contractual arrangement documents, received a master manuscript electronically for printing and replication on demand, with electronic payments for units sold faxed back to the U.S. monthly. All in all a very efficient business transaction.
With regard to general security matters, some of the latest information on Net security may be found from the Netscape developers who are also working on encryption and privacy issues. Firewalls non-existent until less than a year ago - are now an increasingly popular way of protecting a LAN from direct Internet access. Effective training of corporate users can also help to protect the integrity of the network.

Building a business presence
Once it is decided to establish a business presence on the Web (and this is not always an official act!) then how best can this be achieved? The guidelines presented by Dr Ralph F. Wilson, a Web page developer, in his checklist entitled 12 Web Page Design Decisions Your Business or Organisation Will Need to Make, is a good starting point. Some of the most important requirements are listed below:

study the culture of the Internet the mailing lists and usenet groups abound with tales of companies getting virtually blasted over blatant advertisements and other poor marketing practices
start small establish an email address for feedback, put in 'call me' links and forms for further information
seed key and trusted people within the organisation communicators, system troubleshooters, researchers, marketers, for example - who are keen and clever
train staff not just in Internet use but in Netiquette and security
develop acceptable use policies and reporting mechanisms for staff, and provide clear guidelines on copyright and privacy issues
plan the growth and development of your Web site in reference to company needs and requirements rather than in isolation and have failsafe or at least backup systems in place
keep the site as dynamic and informative as possible to encourage return visits.
Given that many sites are developed initially by enthusiastic staff who may not necessarily have resources to support a fully-fledged Web site, people skills are vital to the success of the venture because of the interactive nature of the Internet.

Growth and its effects on business
I read in New Scientist earlier this year that the only thing growing faster than the Internet was the Chinese economy - or was it the other way around? As far as hardware and technological developments go, the Internet is a booming business for computer, networking, and telecommunications companies around the world. There are regular announcements of advances in data storage and compression, computer processing speeds, even the prospect of the delivery of broadband over narrowband (AT&T) that encourage other businesses to participate, if they can see immediate as well as long term benefits.
Technological developments aside, it is the human side of the Internet, the people that are its users, that will define how companies can effectively utilise it to further their business. The focus on the client or customer will force the pace of software and hardware developments; and to quote from the AUSWEB95 Conference paper by David Watson, The Impact of Live Audio Visuals on the WEB and Business, "The key to the greatest successes may lie with the ability to overcome the impersonal side of computing by offering a "realtime person experience" (RPE) over the Internet through links afforded by the WWW."
Technological developments will underpin the expansion of business use of the Web but many of these will be related to more people-oriented work practices. Peer to peer assistance and support for everyday tasks, added to the potential for the formation of new business partnerships facilitated by the Web makes the Internet a potent business tool indeed. The cross-fertilisation of ideas between academia and the business world will surely result in more innovative and cooperative business ventures, but may well produce an avalanche of information also.
Meanwhile, the established commercial online services that offer information databases and indexes for a price are now providing Web gateway access as well, from DowVision and Dialog to Compuserve. The Uncover service offers commercial document delivery of articles with copyright royalties as part of the price. Fast and complex retrieval tools for location as well as access to information will become essential with the opening up of databases, see developments with Oracle, and IBM's groupware, Lotus Notes. IBM and Apple offer access via their operating systems and Microsoft is set to join them. Content, copyright, and costs may well be contentious issues in the nineties as broadband services get closer to being a realistic option.
We will need people who can deal with these issues and who can manage the provision and delivery of information, as well as technical 'cyberagents' or net tools to filter the information that we receive into meaningful units. Librarians are becoming 'cybrarians' and personal software agents are on the increase.
To sum up, here is a report from the Edupage newsletter/mailing list of 15 August 1995, quoting from the Wall Street Journal,
"Next Computer Inc. is setting its sights on the Web, with a new set of programming tools for designing complex Web services that can be tied into corporate databases. Web Objects assists programmers in writing applications that can respond to free-form questions or give information tailored to specific requests. "This is a very powerful breakthrough," says the chief technical officer for Sun Microsystems. (Wall Street Journal 14 Aug 95 B5)" 
Conclusion
Throughout this paper I have tried to emphasise the positive aspects of the Web for business use without ignoring the problems. It is difficult to predict what the future will be for the Web and for business use of this medium when the pace of change is so great.
What's next after colour and movement and HTML 3.0? Hypermedia, wireless Internet, (refer Apple's recent petition for allocation of a wireless frequency spectrum), computer telephony, digicash - time will tell. Although there are major developments occurring on many fronts, there are many pitfalls for the unwary. Education is the best method of ensuring an awareness of both the advantages and disadvantages of taking your business on the Net. After that, it's a calculated risk, but it may just wildly succeed!

Reference

[1]
The Australian February 7 1995 p.32.

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